Wheel



7 March 8, 1938. w -r-r 2,110,126

WHEEL Filed Oct. 15, 1934 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

Patented Mar. 8, 1938 UNITED STATES WHEEL I Chauncey W. Gannett, Wellington, Ohio, assignor to Wellington Machine Company, Wellington, Ohio, a corporation-of Ohio Application October 15, 1934, Serial No. 748,361

3 Claims.

This invention relates to wheels and particularly to wheels of the class'adapted to be used on industrial trucks and the like, such for example as wheels having a central bearing rotatable on a fixed axle.

Among the objects of the invention are:

To provide generally an improved wheel of the class referred to To provide, in a wheel ofthe class referred to,

improved means for securing a rim of the wheel to'a central wheel structure;

To provide a wheel of the class described having an improved bearing construction;

, To provide a wheel of the class referred to having a removable tire supporting rim and con-' structed and assembled in a manner to facilitate removal of the tire for renewal purposes;

To provide a wheel of the class referred to in which a rim is secured to the central wheel portion by outwardly radially exerted thrust, and having improved means for exerting said radial Other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which my invention appertains.

26 My invention is fully disclosed in the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1.is a cross-sectional view of a wheel embodying my invention in oneform;

30 Fig. 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the wheel of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view to a larger scale of apart of Fig. 1 illustrating a step of assembling the wheel; Figs. 4 and 5 are views generally similar to Fig. 35 3, illustrating amodiflcation;

Fig. 61s a cross-sectional view illustrating another form of wheel embodying my invention;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary side-elevational view of the wheel of Fig. 6;

40 Fig. 8 is a view to alarger-scale of a part of Fig.

6 illustrating a step in the process of assembling .the wheel;

The subject matter of this application is a continuation in part of the subject matter as disclosedin Patent No. 1,980,479, for Improvements I in wheels, issued November 13; 1934, and Pat. No.- 2,00'l,444 for Improvements in wheels issued July 9, 1935 and reference may be had thereto for subject matter. illustrated and described in the instant application but not claimed herein."

Referring to the embodiment of my'invention illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3,1 have illustrated at 1-! a pair of axially dished discs centrally perforated to receive anaxle 2 therethrough and having inwardly radially extending flanges 3-4.

. discs ll.

clamped upon opposite ends of a tubular hub or bearing element 4 bybolts 5 disposed to draw generally central portions of the discs 1-! inwardly axially toward each other, to effect a rigid hub structure and bearing enclosure at the wheel 5 center. The details of construction of the wheel center thus briefly described and more completely illustrated in the drawing is not an essential part of the instant invention but is a part of the subject matter of the above mentioned copending 10 application Serial No. 601,246.

The peripheries of they discs l--l are bent outwardly axially providing flanges 6-6 having radially outwardly thereof generally frusto-conical faces 'I|, the cone angle of which will'be more 15 fully described.

At 8 is indicated a wheel rim, substantially rigid and which may be suitably formed from cast metal. A tire 9 of cushioning material may be mounted on the rim in any suitable manner. 20 The rim 8 has an inwardly radially extending rib or tongue l0 and laterally thereof as viewed in Fig. 3 is provided with frusto-conical surfaces I ll.

In general, the disc flanges 66 are disposed on opposite sides of the tongue Ill and the frustoconical faces 1 thereof engage the frusto-conical surfaces ll. Bolts I 2 l2 are projected through aligned perforations 13 in the rib I0 and M in the discs, and the nuts 15 when drawn up on the bolts l2' effect a clamping action on the discs to draw them toward each other to effect a wedging engagement of the surfaces H and faces 6. The material of the discs I and flanges 6 is preferably resilient such as resilient sheet metai', and when the bolts I2 have drawn the discs into rigid engagement with the sides of the tongue Ill as illustrated in Fig. l, the wedging engagement referred to exerts an outward radial resilient thrust between the discs and the rim to secure them to- 40 gether for transmission of load from the rim to v the center of the wheel or to an axle 2 therein without liability of becoming loose-and affording a substantially rigid structure from the hub to the rim.

In the use of wheels of this type, when the tire 9 has worn or broken, it becomes desirable to change it by removing as a unit the rim and the tire thereon. It then is necessary to remove the I have found that if the angular inlination, asviewed in Fig. 3, of the rim surfaces l|ll is too small, that is to say, makes too small an angle with the wheel axis, it is .very diflicult to, remove the discs !--i because theresilient flanges 6 when wedged therewith become locked 56 therewith, and in the effort tounlock'them: the flanges 6 or the discs I may be mutilated. On the other hand, if the angular inclination is too great, the flanges 6 resist being wedgingly drawn thereover and may be permanently bent, or distorted when the same is attempted by drawing up the bolts.l2. Again, if the angular inclination of the surfaces II is suitably provided, then the corresponding angular inclination of the faces 1-! must likewise be suitably predetermined. If the angle is too great, the entire bending stress on the flanges 6 may be applied thereto at the outer peripheral edge and may bend or distort them during the drawing up of the bolts I 2. And

if the angular inclination of the faces "I is too small, the outer peripheral edges of the flanges 6 may not engage the surfaces II when the discs are drawn up by the bolts.

bolts.-

By making repeated tests,. I have found that if the angular inclination of the surfaces ll is'not less than seven degrees, a suitable wedging action may be effected without undue liability that the discs will look when it is desired to remove them; and that a suitable amount of bending of the flanges 6 will result if the inward axial divergence of the faces 1 and surfaces I I is not less than one degree and not more than 5 degrees. If these limits are adhered to, the outer peripheral edges of the flanges 6 will, when the discs are drawn up by the bolts, engage the surfaces ll of the rim and at the same time when the bolts l2 are loosened, the discs will be readily removable.

In the modification of Fig. 4, the discs l-l are locked to the tongue "I. To this end, the per-.

foration l3 in the tongue I9. is enlarged with respect to the bolts l2, and washers l6-l6 having inwardly projecting beads l'l-l'l formed at the inner periphery thereof are placed on the I When the nuts II are drawn up on the bolts, the heads I! will press into the perforation l3 the portions of the discs adjacent the periphery of their perforations ll-ll as shown in Fig. 5 thus interlocking the discs with the tongueJO to insure that the discsand rim may not be displaced circumferentiaily after they have once been secured in position.

In the form of Figs. 6, ,7 and 8 I have shown a rim it formedfrom sheet metal. As well understood in the art, a sheetmetal rim may be rolled from lengths of sheet metal and the ends abutted and welded together. Any suitable method may'be utilized to form the rim H. In crosssection. the rim I3 is generally of channel form.

The lateral flanges l 9-l9 are rounded. The web, is depressed as at 20 thus providing an outwardly concave recess 2| and an inner bead 22. A tire of rubber'or like cushioning material is forme to fit in the the recess 2| into which the tire fits cooperating with the flanges l9 to retain the tire in the rim. Such tires may be vulcanized directly to the l6. In such vulcanizing processes, the tire is compressed between axially approaching die elements and heretofore it has been found that when the pressureof the die elements is applied to. therubber of the tire, it in some instances tends to separate from the rim along the medial line thereof and to form a weak portionor in some cases a cavity in the tire adjacent the rim. By providing the recess 2|, a bead 24 of the tire may extend from the body of the'tire inwardly radially to fill the recess, and the liability above mentioned of producing defective rims is obviated completely.

channel rim substantially filling it,"

On the radially'inner side of the channel web, it is provided with inclined surfaces 25-25 sub-. stantially frusto-conical with respect to the wheel axis and oppositely inclined. A pair of discs 26-26 are formed.witlr peripheral, axially 'ex- 5 tending flanges 21-21 having formed thereon opposite inclined faces 23-28,1(see also Fig. 8). generally frusto-conical with respect to the wheel axle. The inclination of the faces 26 reintive to the surfaces 25 is such as to provide an 10 angle therebetween of not less than one degree for the reason given above. The discs 26 may be drawn toward each other by bolts 29 to effect a wedging action between the faces 23 and 25, and as shown in Fig. 6 the discs may be drawn l5 entirely together as at 36 in which position the flanges 21 will engage the rim with a wedging action exerting outward rwilient thrust to secure the rim with the tire thereon to the discs.

The discs 26 are dished and have central tubu- 20 lar hub portions 3l'-3l thereon terminating outwardly axially in inwardly radially directed flanges 32-32. A tubular bearing element 33 is telescoped into. the tubular portions 3| when the discs are assembled as illustrated. Suitable 25 roller or like hearing elements 34 may be disposed in the bearing element 33 to support an axle 36. Washers 36-36 are disposed at the end of the tubular element 33. Hub elements 31-31 are provided generally of cup form with 30 perforations 38-38 in the bottoms of the cups embracing the axle 35 and with outwardly radial? lyextending flanges-39-39 thereof disposed between the washers 36 and the terminal flanges 32.

The parts thus just described-are so provided 35 that upon tightening up the bolts 29, the terminal flanges 32-32 will clamp the hub elements 31 and washers 36 upon the ends of the bearing element 33 to provide a rigid hub construction.

- Thetubular portion 3| may be cylindrical and 40 have telescopic flt with the outer wall of the tubular element 33 and the outer peripheries of the washers 36 andflanges 39 may fit the inner wall of the'tubular portion 3|. whereby to align the inner peripheries of the washers 36 and hub 43 elements 31 with the axle 35 with a relatively close flt therein. Packing material 49 may be disposed between the washers 36 and the bottoms of the-cup-form hub elements 31.

The discs 26 may have angularly spaced ribs 50. ll-ll. pressed therein for stiffness. It will be observed that the depressed portion 26 of the channel-form rib serves three purposes, interiorly providing an expansion recess into whichthe rubber 'ofthe'tire 23 may move upon being vul- 5 canized under pressure to prevent outward radial movement thereof forming defects as known in the practice, and the recess also provides for' a tongue-and-groove interlock connectionbetween the tire and the rim; and r dially inwardly, the depressed portion 2u=provides the rib for wedging engagement with the peripheral portion's'oi' the discs to secure therim to thedis'c's.

In the foregoing description,- numerous embodimentsby which my invention may be practiced are described and various other forms and modifications will occur to those skilled in the art, and my inventioncomprehends all such forms and modifications coming within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a wheel, a rim, a central hub supporting structure comprising axially opposite sheet metal discs having circularly perforated portions adjacent the rim? a radially inwardly extending rim. -7 5 tongue disposed between the said disc: perforated portions and having enlarged perforations in.

\ other to clamp them upon the rim tongue and to cause the elevated annular portions of they washer devices to inwardly draw and deform the sheet metal discs adjacent the peripheries. of their perforations into the enlarged perforations oi the tongue, to interlock the 'discs with the rim tongue.

2. In a wheel, a continuous rigid rim formed with radially inwardly disposed axially opposite inwardly converging frusto-conicay annular disc seats disposed symmetrically withrespect to a rotational plane therebetween, and having an included angle of not'substantially greater than 166, a pair of like sheet metal dished wheel discs provided-with frustro-conical annular resilient flanges having an included angle of not substantially greater than 164,", engaged with the said seats respectively, by detachable attaching meansandrae F to forcibly draw the disc flanges rigidly into the seats by yieidably bending the resilient flanges, and thereby exerting an outwardly radial wedging action of the discs upon the riin to connect the rim to thediscs, and whereby the discs may be readily detached from the rim upon relieving the attaching means.

3. A wheel as described in claim 2 and in which means is provided to rigidly stop the discs at the end of the drawing disc seats. C l

4. A'wheel as described in claim 2 and ,in which the rim has an inwardly radially extending tongue of the disc flanges into the and the discs, inwardly oi the resilient flanges are clamped upon opposite sides of the tongue by the attaching means upon drawing the -yieldable flanges into the disc seats.

5. A wheel as described in claim 2 and in which the discs inwardly of the yieldable flanges are clamped upon each other by the attaching means upon drawing the yieldable flanges into the disc seats.

I 6. A wheel as described in claim 2 and in which the rim is formed of sheet metal and the disc seats are on. the inner surface of an inwardly convei outwardlyconcave bead on the rim, and a rubber tire is mounted on the rim and has atongue in the convexity of the CHAUNCEY GARNET-'1'. 

